Hello!
I'm Laimutė Varkalaitė, an illustrator and a graphic designer, based in a sweet small home-town Rumšiškės, in Lithuania. I have decided to stay in this place long time ago. My home and the environment which I live in are the base of everything I create. That inspires me to discover simplicity and the sense of wonder in my creative ideas.
I love drawing. This is a language I use to introduce myself and connect with other people. I use traditional and digital graphic techniques, as well as their combination, to transmit my ideas visually on paper or on screen. My drawing is a pure graphic line, with a focus on every detail, the harmony of colours and profound emotional expression. The main theme of most of my works is nature and human-being, their interaction and reflection of each other.
With my creation I try to achieve a calming and positive impact on the perceiver. I want to inspire him to believe in the magical effect of creation, to encourage him to reveal his worldview and to get to know himself better. Every art work for me is a story, a challenge, an artistic achievement and an improvement of my skills as an illustrator. I love sharing it with others.
I am thankful to everyone who knows me closer and discovers my perception of the world through my art works.
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A bit about my studies and some basics about what and why I am doing now. After finishing the primary school, I started my artistic studies at Kaunas College the Art Faculty of J. Vienozinskis. There I studied many useful subjects for a graphic designer. After three years of studying my artistic skills and the knowledge of graphic design gave me more self-confidence and motivated me to go on with my studies. Thanks to some people and their support after my graduation I started studying at Vilnius Academy of Arts at Kaunas Faculty. There I spent the whole six years and got my Master’s degree in Graphic design. The knowledge and practice I gained throughout these studies, strengthened me to stand as a professional graphic designer and discover new creativity fields, such as illustration.
Although, I draw as far as I remember myself and drawing was the basic expression of almost every creative idea I had during the nine-years of studies, I started calling myself an illustrator only since 2012, when I began illustrating the first book for children. When my illustrations were noticed and awarded in various contests in my country as well as abroad, I started aiming at becoming a professional visual artist even more and I am doing that up to now. Why is it so important to me? I strongly believe that visual stories can evoke us wonderful feelings, can make us much happier and inspire to fall in love with a life. I am convinced that one person may can inspire another and even be a reason to take significant acts achieving personal goals. Thus, creation acts as a bridge which strongly and for long connects people.
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Why am I creating? It is the same as asking:
“Why am I breathing?”
That is what makes me feel alive and sustains me.
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— Alma Mater —
2002-2005 – Higher non-university studies in the Department of Graphic Design, Kaunas College J. Vienožinskis Art faculty
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2005-2009 – Bachelor studies in design, Kaunas Art Faculty, Vilnius Academy of Arts (VAA)
2005-2009 – Bachelor studies in design, Kaunas Art Faculty, Vilnius Academy of Arts (VAA)
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2009-2011 – Master studies in design, Kaunas Art Faculty, VAA
2009-2011 – Master studies in design, Kaunas Art Faculty, VAA
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— Membership —
Lithuanian Design Association
-LDA-
Since 2012
-LDA-
Since 2012
.
Japan Illustrators' Association
-JIA -
Since 2021
-JIA -
Since 2021
.
Association of Illustrators
-AOI-
Since 2021
-AOI-
Since 2021